Francophile  – an individual who has a strong positive predisposition or interest toward the government, culture, history, or people of France. (Wikipedia)

That’s me! I’m not sure where it began. Maybe it was when I was a kid and my dad would come home from his fishing trips in Canada with crackers or other items that had French written on the box. He took French in high school. I followed suit. I loved my high school French class! In fact, I saved my pennies from my part-time job at KFC to go on the high school French Club trip to France when I was 17 – not only my first trip abroad, but also my first time on a plane! Then, I studied for a semester in Toulon, France in college. At one point, I was returning to France every three years. I love the French culture and way of life. (Yes, the French Paradox will appear in a future post!)

Friday night, Rob and I dined at Colette Bar & Bistro in the Sofitel Hotel.

“WHAT?” you ask? With all of the options of French cuisine in the Twin Cities, why would I be dining in a hotel bar if I wanted to go out and have a French meal? Here’s why:

• I had rescheduled my last loooooooong run (60 min) for Friday night since I missed it earlier in the week.
• It was a Friday night. After my run, where on earth (um, the Twin Cities) can you get a seat at 6:30 or 7pm without a reservation?
• We had a gift certificate.
• We’d been there before and liked it.
• It’s actually a very nice place!

I was right in my assumption that a Friday night would be a great night to dine at a Hotel Restaurant. Try it  sometime! People staying in hotels are usually out and about because they just got into town and want to check out their destination, not stay in the hotel.

I love the fact that we can order a Kir or Kir Royale as a cocktail here! Brings me back to Paris…

Colette gets brownie points for including De-Light options on their menu!

I was really in the mood for fish, so I inquired on all that was listed. The staff gave me very detailed descriptions. I did pass on the “De-Light” option (230 calories) because after running 60 minutes, I wanted something a little more substantial. The Sea Bass with Saffron Cream Sauce sounded fantastic, but a little rich for my tastes that evening. So after sharing a bruschetta appetizer with Rob, I had the Halibut with Ratatouille.

The presentation of all dishes at Colette was breathtaking! And while that little seasoned tomato you see above was divine (I’ll take four of those next time, please!), the fish was something to be desired. It seemed overdone and not that exciting. But the waitstaff did describe the dish correctly and indicated it was a healthy option, especially if I wanted my veggies.

However, I did have a bite or two of Rob’s dish:

Creamy goodness! I’d call it comfort food with elegance.

We did opt for dessert. And while normally I try to only have a couple of bites, I hate to admit that I probably ate half of this huge piece of decadence:

Sounds strange, right? But oh it was so creamy, chocolatey, and the basil really worked in this dessert!

Yes. We will be back to Colette. And you’ll probably find us there on a weekend night when we don’t yet have plans, want to stay close to home, and still enjoy high quality food.

Cheers~
Carrie